Mr Puriphat enlisted the help of Wisit Ittiwarapornkul from South Siam Divers (SSD). A team from SSD dived down and tied a marker buoy to the block. It took them about an hour to locate the block because, the divers said afterwards, it was murky down below.
Mr Puriphat told The Phuket News, “There are other problems that need to be fixed. [For example] I am watching the boats passing by. Most of them go too fast, well over the speed limit of five knots [9.26 kmh], especially when they are close to the pier.
“We can monitor them through radar and see exactly how fast they go. We are planning to make all owners fit their boats with AISs [automatic identification systems] so we can monitor them.”
Many other blocks installed by the Marine Department around 18 months ago sit on the sea bed, their buoys missing. But it may be some time before they can be fixed. Mr Puriphat said, “If I can’t get enough budget to do a project [properly], I won’t do it at all.”
But for now, he hopes, the block that ripped the bottom out of the Lady Andaman on Sunday, and the Booze Cruise boat 11 months ago, will claim no more victims.